Star Darlings; the Other 12

Picholas Moment...

I'm Sorry this update was so late. I'm readjusting to some changes regarding my learning and this chapter was rather difficult for me to write. Here it is tho!

Nicholas... Piper's mind touched his. It's midnight; everyone is asleep... and where's the date?

I'm getting ready! Nicholas argued. Bring your sleeping bag; it's pretty cold out.

Ok. Where do you think we should go? The trees will cover the sky, and I don't see any clearings.

I think I can find a place.

Up to you.

Nicholas grabbed his sleeping bag, along with some other things like a flashlight, food and water, and his star-zap. Unzipping the tent entrance, he saw Piper sitting on a log outside, her sleeping bag in her arm. Nicholas smiled. He'd never seen someone more beautiful than her...

What are you thinking about? Piper asked, smiling. You know I can read your thoughts, right?

Nothing's private from you, is it? Nicholas asked.

Thanks for the compliment. Piper said. And your privacy... I'm afraid it disappeared since the first kiss. You're not hiding anything from me.

Alright... come on. He took her hand, and they walked through the forest, searching for a good spot to star-gaze. The stars were barely visible from the thick canopy of leaves and branches.

"I found a place," Piper whispered after taking a look via sunray vision. "Up ahead. A clearing."

"Let's go!" Nicholas said, heading towards the clearing Piper found.

They exited the trees into a small clearing on a hill. There were trees knocked down, and the ground seemed like it had collapsed.

"There must've been a landslide or something that cleared out this area," Nicholas said. "And it was not too long ago."

"We can spend the night there." Piper pointed to a spot up the hill that was untouched by the wreckage of trees. It rose above the treeline, giving whoever up there a perfect view of the sky.

"I'll get us up there." Nicholas took her hand, teleporting them to the spot she pointed to. They laid down their sleeping bags and sat down.

"Now we wait," Nicholas said, lying on his back beside Piper.

"Nicholas..." Piper said softly. She grabbed his hand, pulling him closer. Nicholas smiled. "This is how we're starting things off?"

"Yes," Piper said before kissing him. Nicholas kissed her back. They spent the next few minutes making out.

"How long do we need to wait?" Piper asked, pulling away after a bit.

"Shouldn't be too long," Nicholas promised. "Have to wait until our eyes adjust to the dark, although I'm not sure how with you literally in my face."

Even in the dark, Nicholas could see her blush, though Nicholas thought she looked cute. "Sleep for a bit, it should help."

"Alright."

Nicholas felt Piper drift off to sleep, burying her head into his chest.

Uh... what? Nicholas thought. Would you explain why you are digging yourself into my chest cavity?

What do you mean? It's cold.

I'm made of ice! Do you come to me for warmth? That doesn't make any sense.

Don't care.

Great...

Also, why is your heart beating so fast?

It is? I don't feel anything...

You're also not as cold as you think... your body temperature is normal.

I never felt that before...

Hmmm...

What are you thinking about?

A theory...

Hmm?

No, nothing...

Alright...

Piper closed her eyes, trying to sleep. After a while, Nicholas prodded her with his mind.

Piper...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ok, she's asleep...

Nicholas looked around, looking for his star-zap. Picking it up, he scrolled through the emails behind Piper's shoulder.

Nothing here... I can't exactly watch Nebula out here... great... this is gonna be a bit boring...

(An hour later)

Piper opened her eyes, yawning. She was still where she was before she passed out, huddled against Nicholas. She was pleased that while she was sleeping, he didn't move from where he was and didn't push her away to her sleeping bag.

She moved a bit, pulling away a bit to see what's happening.

"You're awake," Nicholas said, scribbling on his star-zap. "Been an hour or two."

"I've been asleep for that long?" Piper asked. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Too busy doing things... you also missed the big show."

"What do you mean?"

"Look up."

Piper turned her head, finally seeing the beautiful lights that are the stars. "Woah..."

The skies were dotted with sparkling lights, making the night sky a shining light show of colours. Near the centre of the sky, a giant streak of lights and nebulous clouds painted the sky in its full glory. The star out here looked... even more, luminous and bright out here if that was possible on Starland.

"Beautiful." Piper breathed.

"Not as beautiful as the woman in front of me." Nicholas smiled, looking at her, making Piper blush.

"When will you stop making these sappy old pick-up lines?"

"Dunno. Grew up with those." Nicholas admitted. "Grandpa always tells me that to get a lady you need good lines."

"Well is certainly helped," Piper said.

Piper settled onto her back, looking at the skies above them. "So Vega's theory of "Light Pollution" is right; there are more stars out here than what we could see from the cities and towns..."

"I've seen better," Nicholas said. "Up North... there's things more beautiful than these stars."

"How is there anything more beautiful than this?" Piper asked, doubt forming on her face. "You can't match this."

"You'll see..." Nicholas smiled. "There's what we call the Aurora. When we get to Polar Peaks, you'll see it at night."

"I still think this is more beautiful than anything else," Piper said.

Nicholas smiled. There are lots of things more beautiful than this, in his opinion. Like Piper. Or the clouded skies on top of one of the mountains when the conditions were right.

"When should we go back?" Piper asked after a while of looking at the stars. "It's 2 am now."

"Probably," Nicholas said. "Sad that it had to end though."

"The same can be said about me as well." Piper leaned in and kissed him. "But I don't want Phil to wake up from some dream and notice we're gone."

"Exactly."

"Come on." Nicholas got up, pulling Piper along with him. "Let's get back before it's too late."

They hiked back to the camp, being extra careful not to wake the others. They shared a goodnight kiss and went back to their tents.

Little did they know, they almost caught Colin doing something...